David M. Coelho: Governor wrong with $10 million ‘executive order’ for toll study

By David M. Coelho

Published
12:00 am EDT, Friday, August 17, 2018

Last month Gov. Dannel Malloy issued an Executive Order requesting to spend $10,000,000 for a “study” about electronic tolling on our highways in Connecticut. He wants to give the information from this very expensive study to the next governor.

As expected, the 10-member Bonding Commission gave him that that authority to spend the money! The majority of the individuals on that commission will be leaving their positions when Malloy leaves office.

Wait a minute — This study is not worthy of an Executive Order. That should be reserved for emergencies! Spending $10 million should have been debated by our elected Legislators in the General Assembly with public debate, and then voted upon.

Even when the Mianus River Bridge collapsed in 1983, then-Gov. William O’Neill, working with the General Assembly, approved a 10-year, $5.5 billion infrastructure renewal program to rebuild our bridges and roads across the state. It was money well spent, and we all saw the improvements over those 10 years and beyond. That was certainly the right thing to do then, and O’Neill’s actions still get high marks for what he did and accomplished.

This $10 million electronic tolling “study” will undoubtedly obtain information from one of the existing tolling companies in our country. And like anything else, when you pay big money for a study, the results may be tilted toward the feelings of who is paying for the study.

Now, here is what I feel should be done: The state Legislature needs to put an immediate stop to this $10 million tolling study ASAP. Next, the Legislature should approach the University of Connecticut, our flag ship university, or one of our other state universities, to conduct this study and return with the results, to be debated. This would be a great “real world” project for an entire class at the university to work on with their professors. They should be given a working budget of $7,000 to cover gasoline to visit highway location sites in Connecticut and some nearby states, meal stipends, paper and printing supplies, large scale map making, etc. Our Connecticut state universities have some some of the brightest young minds in our country. I am confident that they could perform this task.

This study would benefit the students, through learning about real government issues affecting all motorists, and Connecticut taxpayers. This would save us from spending $10 million wastefully and still give the entire General Assembly information about possible tolling, if needed, and where, along with all of the issues that go along with it. Instead of our university students reading about case studies such as this, they could take pride in knowing that they were actually part of that case study!

Malloy, in his tenure, has been big on spending money in some wrong places. This $10 million study is another one of those cases. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton is not a tightwad and he’s not a big spender, yet he gets things done that really need to be done. I know he would not be in favor of a $10 million study, nor would he request one.

Malloy says he wants to give his $10 million study to the next governor. If someone wants something, let them ask for it.

Spending $10 million now on a tolling study should NOT be done — it’s just too much money!

David M. Coelho is a resident of Danbury and a lifelong resident of Connecticut.